The present invention relates to a delivery device for a freezing plant of the type in which the material or the products to be frozen are moved through the freezing plant supported by a continuous web of wire mesh or by wire mesh mats, and where the web or the mats are moved about a part of the circumference of a roller for delivery of the frozen material.
Such delivery devices are known, for example, in connection with simple freezing tunnels in which an endless wire mesh belt is moved about two end reversing rollers. At the end reversing roller arranged at the exit of the freezing tunnel there is usually provided a scraper for removing the frozen material or the frozen products, as the belt is moving about such reversing roller. Delivery devices of the aforesaid type are also known in connection with freezing plants where the goods to be frozen are supported by wire mesh mats which with the aid of elevator means are moved vertically inside the freezing plant, and which upon leaving the elevator means are caused to form a substantially continuous belt which is likewise moved about a roller at which a scraper is also provided. This movement performed by the wire mesh web or the wire mesh mats as they move about a part of the roller, i.e. the delivery roller, causes some of the material or some of the products to loosen from the wire mesh. This is due to the fact that the material or the products, naturally, are hard as a result of their frozen state, whereas the wire mesh passes from a flat to a general cylindrical form. The material or the products not broken off in this manner must be removed by means of the scraper.
The breaking-off explained above is highly imperfect when a wire mesh web or wire mesh mats are used, so that the material or the products may be torn when passing the scraper. It is also known to use a web or mats comprising mutually hinged slats. The slats are oriented with their longitudinal axes transversely of the travelling direction of the web or the mats. When passing the breaking-off roller the slats will be subject to an angular motion in relation to each other. This produces a well-defined mutual movement of the individual slats and accordingly, an efficient breaking-off. Accordingly, the difference between the slat constructions and the wire mesh constructions is in that in the former case a well-defined angular motion of the slats in relation to each other is produced as they pass the breaking-off roller, whereas this does not apply in the latter case. It should also be mentioned that the end reversing roller or the breaking-off roller usually merely includes a shaft with sprockets mounted at the ends thereof to engage respective chains arranged along the lateral edges of the continuous web, or when mats are used, then along the lateral edges thereof. It will be understood that in the latter case the subject chains may be chain sections, i.e. sections with lengths corresponding to the length of the mats.